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I cried this week, too. I cried for Sam, a 22 year old "kid" (I've known him for 10 years) who got messed up trying to make a life the wrong way. A guy who walked through life with his head down, barely looking at you when you spoke to him. Sammy sold drugs to make a living. He messed up. He got hooked on the drugs he sold. He needed more and went for the harder stuff. The person he bought from decided to make an example out of him to prove a point because one of Sam's friend's robbed his drug house.

Sam is gone. Shot in the shoulder and the stomach. He was only 22. Sure, he made some wrong choices--choices that sometimes seem inevitable in a society that casts people like Sam aside without even getting to know the person inside.

I cried for Sammy again today in church. I cried because I experienced a fairly typical church service...We praised God for what he's brought *us* through...We praised God for keeping *us* from harm...We praised God for his mercy on *us*. Today, praising God for sparing *me* didn't feel so great because my inward Christian praise left out those who God *didn't* spare. This week he didn't spare Sammy.

While we were sitting in our church building praising God for keeping us from harm, I realized...

The Sammy's of the world aren't walking through church doors.

While we sit in church, they're walking through life with their head down. Why do we feel that *they* need to join *us* in our church buildings?

What are we doing to make our world a place that the Sammy's of the world can also praise God for keeping them from harm?

The only difference between Sammy and me is that we had different choices to make. He was raised in a much tougher environment than I was. I thank God for Sammy being a part of my life and pray that we can begin to see that we really are all the same.

"If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is tied up with mine, then let us work together." -- Lill Watson, aboriginal activist

Larry James' Urban Daily

A repository of ideas, resources, commentary and opinions concerning the issues facing low-income residents of the inner cities of the United States and how mainstream America largely forgets or, worse, ignores the day-to-day realities of urban life for the so-called "poor." Written and edited by the President & CEO of CitySquare. Please visit CitySquare.